Minnesota Vikings land a big free-agent catch in wide receiver ...

Bernard Berrian didn't shy away from any of the expectations that come pre-packaged with his lucrative contract with the Vikings.

[BARRY DAWSON]

WELCOME TO MINNRSOTA BERNARD! WE'VE BENN WAITING FOR YOU! CAN;T WAIT UNTIL THE SEASON BEGINS!!!

[Da AD28]

Now if only we can get Walker and Moss...

[Da AD28]

Go Sioux!

[99 Red Balloons]

Egads how things have changed here. We are the fan base treated to Sammy White, Ahmad, Anthony - Cris Carter and of course Raggidy Randy.

Berrian is a solid pickup but good grief; we've already had the best here; let's not assume Berrian will join that collection.

[mike]

They still don't have anyone to throw the ball

[cherny]

finally a serious receiver in the mix....Berrian and Rice will make a good 1 - 2

[cherny]

Hey Nena, no one is anointing Berrian as anything but an upgrade to a terrible receiving corp....read your comments...they don't make sense. 99 red balloons....geez

[gps]

I'm going to at least hope that he joins the elite wr in the nfl. I am really happy about this acquisition. Go Vikes!

[Al Coholic]

I don't think we should knock this signing as fans. He was the best FA WR out there and we got him. At least we are attempting to get the best players we can to improve. Is he Randy Moss? NO! Of course not, nobody is or will be that good of a receiver for a long time, but we are not going to put a guy like Moss back on our team with his baggage. The only problem I have is that the Packers might get Moss. If that happens, were screwed. GO GET ANOTHER WR. Malcom FLoyd? 6'5", 4.4 40 yd dash, and young, inexpensive. He would be a nice Red zone receiver.

[barry bonds]

why doesn't somebody sign me?

[Call Me Stupid]

Trade for Taylor!!!

[Frosty]

Wow. Good thing Wilf's got a deep checkbook, because we are seriously overpaying this guy. Still, I'm glad we finally got him.

And we do have somebody to throw the ball to him. Just because Williamson kept dropping TD passes doesn't mean that Jackson can't throw. He's shown flashes, and he's only started 12 games. Give him some time.

[to funny to laugh about]

How can I stop laughing? I'm serious here folks!!!! Does Chilly really believe Berrian is a #1 wideout??? And a nasty player?

And "hey" whats Thomas Tapeh got that Tony Richardson dont? Other than a fat paycheck coming, he aint got nothing more to add to this offense other than taking us a step back in progress until he learns the system.

And, now we are still down a few players we cant afford to resign. We still need Defensive ends and we still need another Defensive linesmen among others.

Why couldnt the team just resign the players we had that we knew are good enough playing together? I mean really, all we actually needed was a pass rusher who can attack and a wideout that can actually run down field and catch the ball.

Why do the Vikings pursue mediocraty?

[Annie]

He may be ok to some and good in others view but he is excellent in my eyes and my family. He will be the best in whatever he does, because he knows his name and his knows his goals. NO praise needed,it doesn't matter which team he plays for.HE IS A HARD WORKER(and he will play nasty) WE LOVE YOU BERNARD!!!!- NO MATTER WHAT CRITICS SAY, YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE YOUR FAMILY TO SUPPORT YOU!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU---"The Lester Family"

[Laugh if you want]

Laugh if you want, but I think the Vikes may have all the peices they need by next year. This is basically Chillys last stance, he has to be big time this year. I see the potential in TJ, the run, the DEF, tune up Rice (sydney) and they'll be dangerous!

[buddy grant]

to funny to laugh about wrote:

How can I stop laughing? I'm serious here folks!!!! Does Chilly really believe Berrian is a #1 wideout??? And a nasty player?
And "hey" whats Thomas Tapeh got that Tony Richardson dont? Other than a fat paycheck coming, he aint got nothing more to add to this offense other than taking us a step back in progress until he learns the system.
And, now we are still down a few players we cant afford to resign. We still need Defensive ends and we still need another Defensive linesmen among others.
Why couldnt the team just resign the players we had that we knew are good enough playing together? I mean really, all we actually needed was a pass rusher who can attack and a wideout that can actually run down field and catch the ball.
Why do the Vikings pursue mediocraty?

I agree. They should have let it be known that they would make Smith the richest DE in history to get him. Why spend money on players like Williams and Tapeh? Role players at best. Berrian is better than Williamson but at what cost. I would have looked at Stallworth as the number two and drafted the best WR available in the second round and the team is better and you save money for Smith. Yes we can still get another WR in the second but we lost out on Smith.

The team is only marginally better for having spent over $30 million dollars. What a waste.

[Chris]

Good luck Vikings fans with the signing of Berrian! he drops as many passes as Williamson! Plus he cant remember what route he is supposed to run!

Nice to see you pay big money for a possible #2WR! Berrian is full of it all he wanted was the $$$$ and you gave it to him for no production! No upgrade here!

[GBPfan]

Chris wrote:

Good luck Vikings fans with the signing of Berrian! he drops as many passes as Williamson! Plus he cant remember what route he is supposed to run!
Nice to see you pay big money for a possible #2WR! Berrian is full of it all he wanted was the $$$$ and you gave it to him for no production! No upgrade here!

No upgrade here? They did over pay but it is an upgrade compared to the crapass WRs they had last year. For the vikings sake i hope "Chris" is wrong casue he makes him sound like a combo between williamson and r ferguson. At least ferguson is a good blocker downfield how out BB?

[Twins-Vikes Fan]

Annie wrote:

He may be ok to some and good in others view but he is excellent in my eyes and my family. He will be the best in whatever he does, because he knows his name and his knows his goals. NO praise needed,it doesn't matter which team he plays for.HE IS A HARD WORKER(and he will play nasty) WE LOVE YOU BERNARD!!!!- NO MATTER WHAT CRITICS SAY, YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE YOUR FAMILY TO SUPPORT YOU!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU---"The Lester Family"

Don't worry about the critics. I have lived in Minnesota my whole life, and for some reason it became cool to be the sceptic when a new player or coach signs a contract. Everyone wants to be the first one to say "I told you so".
All the doubters will be the first ones on the band waggon when they start winning....and the first to jump off once they lose one game.

[Ben]

Make Smith the richest DE in the league?! Why waste the money on a 2-sack guy. Sure he's had better seasons, but he's not the pass rusher we need. We already have two guys who can fill that 2-sack a year role, Edwards and Robison. I would have liked to get him but not for what we would have needed to pay. Odom would be a nice addition and we still have plenty of money to throw his way. Our offense is what really needed an upgrade. We can get a pass rusher with our #17 (Harvey or Merling) and maybe even Groves in the second round. Don't say he's too small either, look at Elvis D. in Denver, 10+ sacks. I agree, Berrian is not a Moss or a Fitzgerald, but we are a run first team who needed someone to get the 8th/9th man out of the box and who can stretch the field. That is what Berrian can do. Of course you had to overpay, but what other choice do you have? No other player available has played the #1 role with as much production. Did you want us to throw money at a #3 guy? Also, a rookie takes a few years to fully develop and were ready to win now. BTW, stop with the T-Jack bashing. Give the guy a second year to play. True he makes bad decisions at times, but he also makes the right ones at times too. Just like every young QB. Give him one more year and if he still can't produce with what he has, then it's time to move on. The 08 FA QB class sucks anyway. Get a smart back-up to help TJ develop. Last thing. Who said we wasted money on Tapeh? He's only getting 1.2M a year, far less than what we would've paid T-Rich. He knows the system already and he's paved the way for two of Westbrook's best years.

Stop complaining (most) everyone...its only day two of FA and we still have 9 Draft picks to continue to build. Go Vikes.